4-Step Computer Security Upgrade

I am in the market for a new laptop/netbook. My current Gateway is more than three years old. It works okay, but it is too big, too heavy, and it is slowly falling apart.

I hope to replace it in the next month, but need some help selecting what my next laptop/netbook should be. I have got it narrowed down to five (though I’m open to additional suggestions).

I plan for it to be my primary computer. I work almost exclusively through online applications, so I do not need to run too many complicated programs. I want to be able to work remotely and will eventually want to add a broadband wireless card. Here is specifically what I am looking at. Please let me know in the comments which of these you would choose and why, or what you would choose instead and why.

I am struck by how incredibly similar these five computers are. If someone can point me to something that meets my specs and is different than these five, I would be interested.

My laptop/netbook requirements:

Weight: Prefer that it be under 3 pounds. My current laptop is over 7 pounds and is unbearable to take anywhere.

Screen: Want at least a 10″ screen.

Processor: My three-year-old laptop is 1.7 GHz, so something in that range would be nice.

Memory: My Gateway has 1 GB RAM, which works fine for my current needs.

Hard Drive: Current HD is 75 GB, and I am not using it all, so that range is fine. I would prefer a SSD, rather than a HDD, for less heat and more durability.

OS: Prefer Windows XP, though I am open to a Mac (and Sam thinks I should hold out for Windows 7 out later this year).

Price: Has to be under $1,000. I would really prefer if it was under $500.

I’ve been looking lately and think the Asus eee PC 1000HE is the best on the market right now. (Have promised myself I get to buy one after I file my taxes.)

A couple of things about the specs you posted – it actually has wireless-n (not b/g). It also has a 6-cell battery and an LED backlit screen. The larger battery makes it a little heavier, but that’s a fair tradeoff for how long it lasts – Asus claims 9.5 hours under optimal circumstances, PC World tested it at just over 7 hours under normal circumstances, and ZDNet got 4.5 hours out of it under extreme use. All of those numbers are phenomenal. The other side effect of the battery is that it protrudes a bit from the bottom of the machine – but that actually has the effect of tilting the computer up while sitting on flat on a table, which make it more ergonomic for typing.

Other neat things about this model – every review talks about how nice the new keyboard is (an obvious bonus). The hard drive and RAM are easily upgradable via a panel on the bottom of the machine, the board has one RAM slot that can handle up to a 2GB DIMM, which you can get shipped with the machine for an extra $25 through Amazon. (Some netbooks have the RAM soldered in, making them non-upgradable.) You can of course also swap out the hard drive for an SSD, but FWIW I wouldn’t recommend it yet. SSDs have greatly improved read speeds, but because of the number of steps it takes to them commit a write operation their overall performance gain is not that great – this is especially true on the low end of the market for them. I think they’re still a couple years away from being worth the investment. Anyway, I digress, the 1000HE also has the unique feature of having buttons above the keyboard to switch the resolution to 1024×768 and to change the processor speed from energy efficient to performance mode on the fly. The only consistent criticism I’ve seen of the machine is that its multi-touch trackpad is a little flaky.

PC World named the 1000HE their top netbook in the March issue, and I recently saw PC Magazine call it hands down, the best netbook for the money on the market right now.

P.S. Also, if you look on Amazon there’s a really neat picture of a custom silver keyboard accent for it. I looked for that on eBay, found that it’s made by an enthusiast who designed it from scratch at the trophy shop where he works, and he sells them for $20.

Your points about being able to easily upgrade storage and memory are very valuable. My hope would be to make even a netbook last at least a few years, so I don’t want one that become obsolete in six months.

I will rank the ASUS 1000HE as my top choice, unless others (Sam?) convince me otherwise.

I have the MSI Wind and tried out the Asus. The Asus keyboard is just too darn small. It’s impossible to use the keyboard effectively unless you have shrunken fingers.

The MSI is well under $500 in the configuration you require and comes with WinXP. There are many who have modded the unit themselves, including increasing the HD, upping the RAM from standard 1GB to 2GB (max), swapping out the wifi card (comes with a B,G,N card) and even swapping out the touchpad. I did the wifi swap, put in a 320gb HD and upped the RAM myself.

I would agree with Jason on the Asus model. It got great reviews in my research (http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/46518/review/eee_pc_1000he.html) and I am looking at purchasing it myself. As for waiting for Windows 7, I am skeptical of Microsoft’s claims of anything at this point, especially of the OS working on a netbook. But that’s just me. I understand Sam Glover has tested it a bit, so he probably knows more about it than I do. Perhaps the question is, how soon do you need it? Does the utility of having it sooner outweigh the potential benefit of having a Windows 7 machine? What specifically does Windows 7 bring to the table for someone using a browser for most of his work?

Harold: I’m a little hesitant to admit it on the pubic interwebs, but I actually do have very small hands, so big keyboards isn’t as crucial for me as for others. I do agree that keyboard size is an important consideration, though.

Will, Sam and Steven: I’m feeling more and more like it might be worth a few months’ wait to get Windows 7. My only concern is that there’s always some cool new technology on the horizon and I will need to pull the trigger eventually.

Just for my own curiosity (hey, I may wait til Windows 7 too), what does that OS offer for netbooks that is worth the wait (other than full on support from Microsoft, which XP will soon no longer enjoy)?

@Steven Speed, for one thing. Windows 7 may tax the hardware a bit more, but it is also better-optimized for modern hardware. All I know is my four-year-old ThinkPad feels faster with Windows 7 than it has with XP, Ubuntu, or Fedora.

For another, Windows 7 has a much-improved interface. For the most part, it just does what I expect it to do without tweaking or wrestling. The new taskbar is especially awesome.

From the sound of it, I am dangerously close to becoming a Microsoft fanboy. I had better do a full review of Windows 7 soon and get it out of my system.

Shannon

I have an ASUS EEE PC 1000H. It is the model before the 1000HE. The only difference really (besides the variables that are changeable such as hard drive size, SSD over SATA, etc.) is the longer battery and the shift key on the keyboard. You can notice the difference in Shift keys here:

Personally, I wish I had waited to purchase my netbook, but my Dell 700m was getting old, and the fact that Microsoft supplemented 30% of my purchase with live.com and ebay made me pull the trigger. A friend of mine has an Acer Aspire One. It has a much better keyboard design, but the screen is just too small. The minimum screen I was willing to go is 10 inches. Now, everyone from Dell to Acer to Lenovo to LG to Samsung make a 10 inch netbook. Most are likely the same. However, I’d wait for the ASUS EEE 1004DN. Its a netbook with an optical drive. Details here:

Travelling in Europe over Christmas, I left my HTC touch at Paris airport and had to find a replacement quickly in Dublin. I bought the Samsung, basically because it was the only netbook available, but just love it. Like you, most of my work is through online applications, and it is ideal. The keyboard is fine, screen is clear and the mousepad has a tap function, which I now use all the time. Highly recommend.

Liz Harris

Should also have added, battery life is fantastic – much better than any previous netbook. Has wi-fi (works well) and webcam. Don’t use bluetooth with my netbook, so have not investigated.

Sam: On the 12″ HP Pavilion, once you get into pricing like $750, I personally think you have gone beyond the netbook price point and more in the territory of conventional laptops. From what I have read, netbooks are not being used as primary machines, and are mainly being bought as secondary laptops for more basic tasks related to net access (thus eschewing the need for optical drives, fancier graphics, larger hard drives, more RAM, and the like) where increased portability is a plus. Other than the 12″ screen, all the features on this machine are that of a conventional laptop rather than a netbook. Nothing wrong with the machine (I personally love HP products, having purchased a desktop and laptop from them), and Aaron, if you like it, get it. I just wouldn’t really call it a netbook.

I would go with the Dell Vostro 1320. Currently selling for $579. Here is the link. I have been using a dell vostro 1400 for my practice for the last year and like it but it is a bit heavy. The new 1320 is much lighter but not much smaller. (i just purchased it for my wife). You generally can not beat the price of the dells but they do not look very nice. It can also get a free downgrade to winxp pro. Which is what I have with both of them. Battery life is great. I get about 3 hours with the small battery and double that with the 9 cell upgrade.

I wanted to buy a netbook to carry around with me but after looking at them found that they were very difficult to use for typing or editing documents because of their size. And as a desktop replacement it just does not seem viable without an drive. Vostro works great as a desktop replacement.

I like how easy it is to customize Dells online, which would be one reason to consider a model like yours.

Jason Samuels

Thought I’d update: got my Asus 1000HE this weekend.

The keyboard, screen, battery life – all awesome!* The trackpad works great but the multitouch functions are tricky – pinching and spreading two fingers to zoom is somewhere between tough and impossible; scrolling with two fingers works better but not perfect; tapping two fingers to scroll lock is cool once you get used to it.
* Though the small shift key on the right is not ideal.

I installed a 2GB RAM upgrade. Getting the bottom panel off was a little bit difficult, though it’s a good thing that it fits tightly. The performance is better than expected. There’s definitely a lag opening applications, but otherwise it’s stable and responds well. The furthest I’ve pushed it yet is using Outlook, Live Mail, Tweetdeck and Firefox .. so far, so good. Also pleasantly surprised to find that it handles Beyond TV Link like a charm, streaming back video from my main PC.

As for my required specs:
Weight: Wanted under 3lbs. This computer is 5lbs.
Screen: Wanted at least a 10? screen. This is 13.3″
Processor: Wanted at least 1.6GHz. This a 2.0GHz dual core.
Memory: Wanted at least 1 GB. This is 4GB.
Hard Drive: Wanted at least 75GB SSD. This is a 300GB HDD.
OS: Want to use Windows 7. This is Vista (I will upgrade this fall).
Price: Wanted it to be $500-$1000. This was $900.
Additional: Wanted Bluetooth, WiFi, and a webcam. This has all of them.

In sum, I got a full-performance laptop for only a little more weight and money than a netbook.